Inking mechanism.



E. W. COOPER.

INKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1913.

1 1 73A 8 Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

E. W. COOPER.

INKING MECHANlSM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14. 1913.

Patentefl Feb. 29, 1916.

2 SHEETS'SHEET 2.

iELLISW. COOPER, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO B. HOE All?!)00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INKING MECHANISM. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916;

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, ELLIs W. CoorER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bloomfield, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Inking Mechanism, fullydescribed and represented in the following specification and theaccompanylng drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in inking mechanism forprinting machines.

The invention has for its object to provide a construction of simple andimproved design whereby a pre-determined quantity of ink may be takenfrom a suitable ink supply and delivered to. the form member of aprinting couple at each printing operation of the couple, the measuredquantity of ink being delivered or fed under pressure, thus insuring aneven and constant supply of ink to the printing member of the couple ateach operation thereof.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the description of amechanism embodying thesame, which will now be given in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of so much of a printingmachine embodying the invention as is necessary for an understandingthereof; Fig. 2 is a side ele vation, partly in section, of theconstruction shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2,showing the ink measuring and feeding means, and Fig. 4 is a side view,partly in section, of a modified form of mechanism which may beemployed.

Referring now to the drawings, the machine chosen to illustrate theinvention is a rotary machine, though it will be understood that theinvention is adapted for use in -machines other than rotary. Oneprinting couple of such a machine is shown comprising form cylinder 1and impression cylinder 2. Cooperating- .with the form cylinder are theusual form rollers 3, 4, which take ink' from a distributing cylinder 5.I In accordance with the invention as hereinafter referred to, thecylinders and rollers all operate at the same surface speed. Machinesembodying the invention will include means for measuring out anddelivering a predetermined amount of ink to the form member at eachprinting operation thereof, the ink delivered being measured from asuitable source of supply and fed under. pressure, whereby a constantand even distrlbution of ink is effected. The means employed foreffecting this. may be varied. In the construction illustrated, thesemeans include a pair of gears 7, 8 carried on short shafts 9, 10, thegears being mounted in a casing 11 suitably secured in the frame of themachine. Ink is supplied to this casing by a pipe 12 from a suitablesource of ink supply (not shown). These gears are operatedintermittently to deliver at each printing operation of the 'formcylinder a predetermined amount of ink, this amount being determined bythe distance the gearsare caused to move at each operation. The meansfor eflecting movement of the gears may be somewhat varied. They will,however, preferably be driven from one of the moving parts of themachine before referred to, and in the particular constructionillustrated are driven from the distributing cylinder 5, which, asbefore stated, runs at the same surface speed as the form cylinder 1.For effecting the delivering movement of the gears from the distributingcylinder, shaft 14 of the distributing cylinder 5 is provided at one endwith a cam 15 having a cam groove 16 in which takes a stud 17 fast, on ayoke 18 on the shaft 14. Connected at one end to the yoke 18 is a rod 19which at its other end is connected to one arm 20 of a bell crank leverpivoted on the short shaft 9 before referred to. The other arm 21 ofthis lever carries a pawl -22 on a pawl stud 26 which pawl cooperateswith a ratchet 23 fast on the. shaft 9. Through these connections, thegear 7 mounted on shaft 9 is given an intermittent rotary motion andwith gear 8 acts to measure out from the ink supply a predeterminedquantity of ink, depending'on the throw of the pawl. The gears 7, 8,further more, form in effect a gear pump which causes the ink to bedelivered from the casof such character that the quantity of ink may bevaried, while the machine is in operation. In the particularconstruction illusonto the ink receiving roll 32.

trated this result is effected by adjusting the throw of the pawl. Inthe construction illusstrated these means include an arm 24 pivoted onthe short shaft 9, on one end of which arm is a guard plate 25 locatedbelow the pawl and on which the pawl is adapted to ride and be held outof engagement with the teeth of ratchet 23. The other end of this arm isformed into a curved plate 28, through the slotted portion of'whichthere projects a stud 27 suitably secured to the casing 11, so that thisslotted arm may be secured in any desired position by the clamp 29, thusthrowing the guard to the right or left, and causing the pawl to comeinto operative engagement with the ratchet earlier or later in itsthrow. With this construction the operative throw of the pawl may bevaried as desired and the consequent amount of ink suppliedcorrespondingly varied.

The mechanism emplayed for delivering the ink after it is delivered fromthe gears may vary Widely. These means will, however, preferably includean ink receiving chamber from which it is fed to an ink receivingcylinder. In the construction illustrated in Fig. 2 the ink isdeliveredfrom the casing 11 before referred to through a pipe 30 to a chamber 31formed in a block 31' supported in the frame of the machine. In theconstruction illustrated, this chamber 31 is a narrow reservoir orconduit adjacent to an ink receiving roll 32 and extends substantiallythe length of such roll. In the preferred construction, thecross-sectional area of the conduit diminishes slightly from the inletend, as indicated in dotted lines in the plan view shown in Fig. 1, thisconstruction being adopted so as to provide a constant pressure of theink throughout the reservoir. The conduit is provided with a dischargethroat 33 which, in the particular construction shown, is formed by apair of plates 34, 35. The plate 34 is a fixed plate and is secured tothe wall of the reservoir. The plate 35 is secured to a removable cappiece 36 fastened to-the reservoir wall in any suitable manner, as byscrew and nut 37. The plate 35 is a flexible plate and is extendedbeyond the plate 34 so as to lap over This plate 35 may be adjusted atvarious points along the periphery of the roll by means of set screws38, whereby the ink supply 'to the roll may be somewhat varied atdifl'erent points.

The ink receiving roll 32 delivers its ink to a ductor roll 39; fromwhich the ink is delivered to distributing cylinder 5. The roll 32 andductor 39 are driven at the same surface speed as the distributingcylinder 5 through any suitable gearing.

The ink receiving roll 32, when employed, is preferably given areciprocating motion horizontally of the ductor roll 39 to break up theink and-insure a more even distribution. This movement may be given theroll I in any suitable manner. In the constructionv illustrated, theshaft 14 of the distributing cylinder 5 on the other side of the machineis provided with a cam 40 having a cam groove 41 into which takes a stud42 on an arm 43 pivoted on a stud 44 carried. in a bracket 45 suitablysecured in the frame of the machine. carries a stud 46 which takes intoa grooved collar 47 on the shaft 48 of the ink receiving roller 32.Through these connections the roll is given a slight reciprocatingmotion horizontally of the ductor roll.

In some instances it may be desirable to omit the ink receiving roll 32and the ductor 39. In such constructions, the ink is delivered directlyfrom the reservoir to the ink distributing cylinder which, in. suchcases, becomes an ink receiving cylinder and acts to distribute the inkreceived by it to the formrollers. Such construction is illustrated inFig. 4, in which, except for the omission of the ductor and the inkreceiving roll, the construction is the same as thatheretoforedescribed, the ink being fed to the ink receiving and distributingcylinder under pressure in predetermined quantities at each printingoperation of the form cylinder.

While the invention has been shown and described in its preferred form,it will be understood that changes and variations may be made in thevarious constructions shown and described for carrying it out, andthatconsequently the invention is not to be lim- What I claim is:

1. In an inking mechanism, the combination with a printing couple, of anink receiving cylinder from which ink is delivered to the form member ofthe couple, a reservoir from which ink is delivered to the ink receivingcylinder, the cross-sectional area of said reservoir diminishing fromthe inlet end, and means whereby a predetermined 'quantity of ink isdelivered under pressure to the reservoir at each printing operation Theother end of the arm 43 machines, the combination of a printing couple,a pump, means for supplying ink I to the pump, means forvarying thedeliv- 105 ited to the precise construction illustrated. v

ery stroke of the pump, whereby varying quantities of ink may bedelivered, and connections for delivering the ink from the pump to theform carrying member of the couple.

. 4. In an inking mechanism for printing machines, the combination of aprinting couple, a pump, means for supplying ink to the pump, areservoir to which the ink is delivered from the pump, a deliveryorifice from the reservoir, one wall of which is a single flexible plateextending the length of the orifice, and means along the plate wherebythe width of the delivery orifice may be increased or decreased topermit varying quantities of ink to be fed through the orifice atdifferent points.

5. In an inking mechanism, the combination with a rotary printingcouple, of a distributing cylinder, a pair of gears for measuring inkfrom a suitable ink supply, and connections operated from thedistributing cylinder for actuating the gears to measure out apredetermined amount of ink from the supply at each operation of thedistributing cylinder.

6. In an inking mechanism, the combination with a rotary printingcouple, of a distributing cylinder, 2. pair of gears operating tomeasure ink from a suitable ink supply, connections operated from thedis tributing cylinder for actuating the gears to measure out apredetermined amount of ink. from the supply at each rotation of the ofthe cylinder, and means for varying the throw of the pawl whereby theamount of ink measured by the gears may be varied. In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

ELLIS W. COOPER. Witnesses RICHARD KELLY, JOHN M.-W. JORDAN.

